“As the Lord your God lives.” With
this exclamation, the widow of
Zarephath sets the tone for her
encounter with Elijah, the great man of
God. She was not an Israelite. Elijah
had no claim no her charity or her
soul. She was not part of the covenant.
And yet, she responded as though she
was. In fact, her response was far more
generous and immediate than that of
most Israelites to the message of the
prophets through the centuries.

The widow of Zarephath begins with
only a vague notion of who God is, but
in her neediness and her humility, she
was living closer to the heart of God
than many who knew the Torah by
heart. Elijah, who had been wrestling
with the kings and leaders of his people,
must have found as much nourishment
from her attitude as from the
small cake she offered out of her meager
supplies.

In the Gospel, Jesus warns the
crowds about the hypocrisy and corruption
that can creep into the leadership
of any group, even a religious
organization. Before the touching
example of the widow giving her last
two coins to the temple collection, he
pointedly condemns those religious
leaders who get rich on just such sacrifices.
The actions of both widows have one
thing in common. Both display a trust
in God that puts more conventional
spiritual types to shame. Giving all that
they have to live on is admirable not
because God wants people to be destitute,
but because God wants people to
put their trust in him rather than in
the things of this world: Money,
weapons, fortresses, power. Letting go
of power is a hard lesson for those who
have it.

Widows and orphans in Old and
New Testament times represented
those who had little support from society.
They were left on their own to
make their way as best they could in a
society in which the men of the community
were the sole support and protection
for their families.

While we are no longer living in that
kind of overtly patriarchal culture, we
know all too well that single mothers
and their children still struggle far
more to survive than most others in
our society. And far too often they’re
condemned by the men (and women)
who have more than they need.

It’s not surprising to hear about poor
people giving generously of their time
and even their meager resources to
help others. They know what it is to be
in need, and they know that they can
do something to help, even if it’s not
much.

Learning to trust is a lifelong task.
But again and again the Scriptures
teach us that trust in God is at the
heart of our lives. Letting go of a little
of our economic security is a difficult
but rewarding way to begin to do this,
especially in a culture like ours that
puts so much emphasis on wealth.
Elijah and Jesus hold up as examples
those outside the conventional power
centers. They themselves were often on
the wrong side of power and authority,
but perhaps they had greater influence
because of that very fact. They knew
that being one with the people mattered
more than being rich and
famous. Their good works carried
more weight than their elegant words.
And even outsiders recognized them as
people of God.